Euro Adventures: a food gallery

Brace yourselves for a big entry. I’ve been hopping around Europe, and I’ve been saving up photos for the last month or so. So without further adieu, the Eurotrip!

Belgium

During my time in Amsterdam, I went with some of my classmates on a weekend trip to Belgium. We spent a night in Bruges and a night in Brussels, and in our time there I saw a lot of cool foods.

This was taken at Delirium, a bar in Brussels that claims to have the most beers on tap in the world—over two hundred!

Lots of sweet shops in Belgium. I didn’t try any, but aren’t they pretty?

We also walked through several markets one morning. You could find anything from fish,

to “Hawaiian” trail mix,

to olives,

and what appeared to be meat jelly.

Of course, I had to get a genuine Belgian waffle. It was light and crisp, and we ate in a really nice little outdoor garden area.

Chocolates

Marzipan fruit in the train station.

Germany

After Amsterdam, I took a train to Berlin, where I stayed for a week. Despite having traveled quite a bit, both within the US and abroad, this was the first trip I'd made completely alone. Previously I’d traveled with my parents, friends, or to places like summer camp and Amsterdam, where there were people to meet me. I planned my trip to Berlin entirely on my own, traveled by myself, and stayed at a hostel. It wasn’t my first—I’d been to hostels in Belgium and the Netherlands—but it was my first time having what I consider the quintessential hostel experience (sleeping in a ten-person bedroom, mostly backpackers, etc.) I ended up befriending some people who lived there and spending most of my time with them, which was great because it allowed me to strike a nice balance between doing touristy stuff and just hanging out doing everyday things. It was also really nice to be with people who spoke German, it made things much easier.

The first thing I ate in Germany—complimentary gummy moles on the train.

When I was walking around with my friends my first afternoon there, a kindly fruit vendor came up to me and gave me a free apple!

Some kind of Turkish dessert

There was this really popular döner place right outside my hostel. There was always a gigantic line, whether it was lunchtime or the wee hours of the morning.

Currywurst and pomme frites (fries). The sauce was kind of spicy and had curry powder. A nice snack, but pretty heavy.

Some of my new friends made cookies one afternoon for their coworkers, super cute.

Bear-shaped bologna in the grocery store

Quite a contrast to the little Dutch canned hot dogs.

Prague

After Berlin, I met up with my family in Prague, and we stayed a little over a week. Truthfully, I wasn’t that into the Czech Republic. Prague was really congested with tourists, and a lot of the Czech people I met were kind of unfriendly. But I got to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend, which was a lot of fun. The first weekend we were there, some of his friends from Germany (where he lives) and some of my friends from my program in Amsterdam came out, and the seven of us went on a pub crawl that ended at Karlovy Lazne, Prague’s five-story club, which is supposed to be the biggest in central Europe. Later, I was able to meet up with one of my classmates from school in Virginia as well. It was also really nice to spend time with my parents, and I definitely can’t complain about the free eats.

I was pretty amused by the Czech words for a lot of foods. Can I offer you some ciabatty ciabattas?

I don’t think this dessert is unique to the Czech Republic, but I really enjoyed it. They wrap dough around these long metal spits that spin over hot coals, and then roll it around in cinnamon sugar. You can smell the smoky sweetness wafting out of the stands from a mile away.

My friend Megen and I went to a Vietnamese market one afternoon, and I got zybojncki toast, which I’m pretty sure is actually Czech… Megen got some pho, which was also excellent.

Just off the main square there’s a bar called Bed Lounge. The inside is all white, and you can lie on a big, white bed/bench and sip on some nice mojitos as the soft-glowing lights gradually change colors.

My friend Byunghun from UVa did some research and suggested we go to a restaurant near the mall that served up some delicious Czech food. This is ham with crispy fried bread, and we also got some delicious lamb sausage (which was less photogenic).

One morning we went to a little market that sold tacky souvenirs and some pristine-looking fresh produce. Beautiful berries!

And some of the biggest cauliflower I’ve ever seen.

Czech food is pretty heavy, so this salad bar place called Country Life was a nice reprieve. You serve yourself and pay by weight, and everything was delicious.

Krakow

After the Czech Republic, we headed to Krakow by train. I loved that city. It felt more real, and the Poles were significantly more agreeable. Unfortunately, I picked up a stomach bug, and wasn’t eating much while we were there. Sorry, but no photos.

Budapest

The last leg of our trip was to Hungary. We had some great weather, and spent two jam-packed days seeing as much as we could. One highlight was our bike tour of the city. I hadn’t been on a bike since Amsterdam, and I’d really missed it. Everything in Budapest was also surprisingly cheap, so we had some nice meals for next to nothing.

The woman selling these didn’t speak English, so I don’t actually know what they were, but they tasted like they were filled with figs, mostly, and the outside was chocolate with fruits and/or nuts.

On our second day, we went to a marketplace where you could buy touristy souvenirs and also fresh produce, meats, baked goods, and a lot of paprika, which I guess is Hungary’s signature spice.

At one stand, this butcher was waving a goat head on a stick at people.

And in his display case there were piglets and pig faces.

Not sure what these were, but they kind of look like a funnel cake got together with a pizza and made little dessert pizzas.

And of course, Dad got some cookies.

My time in Europe has been amazing. I’d never been to so many countries in so short a time before, and it was really interesting to compare the cultures and foods—things are so different from place to place, despite all these countries being as close together as American states. I’m so glad to have had this experience. I learned a lot this summer, and now that I’ve got a taste for travel as an adult (or at least a pseudo-adult), I think I’m addicted. Exploring new places without my parents has not only opened my eyes to the potential for adventures worldwide, but it’s also made me realize how lucky I am to be able to travel with them as well. As I write this, I’m on a plane headed to DC, and by the time I post it, I’ll be back in Virginia. I have to say, I’m pretty excited to go back. I have a big year planned. I’m hoping to post more frequently, try new recipes, bring in some more guest chefs, and really build up my arsenal of eats. I’m looking forward to my newest adventure, and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!